Part-Time Work Permit UAE: Cost, Validity and How to Apply (MOHRE)

This guide is for employees and family-visa residents who want a second job with a company registered with MOHRE, and for teens and students aged 15 and over who want a first one. Self-employed side income is a different route, covered in UAE freelance permit and freelance and remote work. The guide is part of the work guide.

At a Glance

Is a Part-Time or Second Job Legal?

Yes, with a permit. Article 6 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, the Labor Law, says work "may not be practised in the State", and an employer may not recruit or employ a worker, "except after obtaining a work permit from the Ministry".

Article 7 lists part-time work as one of the work types: working "for one or multiple employers for a specified number of working hours or days". The law's executive regulation, Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, creates a part-time work permit in Article 6. It lets an establishment registered with MOHRE employ a worker on a part-time contract, and it adds that the worker "may work for more than one employer after obtaining the Ministry's permission to do so".

The permit is tied to the employer. Article 60 fines anyone who employs a worker "with no permit to work for him", so the permit for your main job does not cover a second employer. The duty runs to the worker too: Article 16 obliges a worker to "not work for others, in violation of the provisions of this Decree by law and other applicable legislation".

The part-time permit is one of 13 work permit types the UAE Government Portal lists. It is not the temporary work permit, which the regulation reserves for a job that takes a limited period to complete; the portal describes that permit as assigning a worker already in the UAE to a task at a different company for a limited period, after which the worker returns to the original employer. MOHRE also has a separate freelance work permit for people who freelance independently, and a private teacher work permit for private lessons. If the second employer is in a free zone, ask that free zone's authority what it issues; this guide covers the MOHRE permit only.

Who Applies, and What MOHRE Checks

The employer that wants to hire you applies. MOHRE lists the service for employers, and the regulation requires the application to come from the person legally authorized to sign for the establishment.

MOHRE's service card, in the latest copy that could be read (22 February 2026), sets these conditions:

• You are 18 or older.
• You hold a valid residence visa.
• Your occupation is compatible with the establishment's activities.
• The establishment's license is valid, with no violations that suspend its operations.
• If the job is a licensed profession, you meet that profession's legal requirements.

The card says all skill levels and professions are eligible, and that this permit needs no bank guarantee, insurance or electronic quota. It also carries the line "For holders of Ministry-issued work permits", and the Cabinet's fee table has the same note against the part-time permit fee. Residents on a family visa should read the family-visa section below; anyone else without a MOHRE work permit should ask MOHRE which permit applies.

Documents the employer submits

• a clear color photo on a white background
• a passport copy valid for at least six months
• MOHRE's official job offer form, signed by you and the employer
• academic certificates by skill level: a bachelor's degree or higher for levels 1 and 2, a diploma or higher for levels 3 and 4, a high school certificate for level 5, and none for levels 6 to 9
• a professional license from the competent authority, where the profession needs one (the card's examples include doctor, nurse, teacher, fitness trainer and advocate)
• a no-objection letter from your current employer

Do You Need Your Current Employer's Consent?

Plan on it. MOHRE's card lists a "No objection letter from the current employer" among the required documents, so the application starts with a letter your main employer has to sign.

The UAE Government Portal describes one case differently. Under the part-time contract system that MOHRE introduced in 2018, it says, part-time contract employees "can take several part-time jobs without the approval of the original or other secondary employers", though they must still get MOHRE's permit. The portal limits that system to skilled workers: holders of a university degree or higher, or of a two-year or three-year diploma in a technical or scientific field. It attributes the rule to Ministerial Decree No. 31 of 2018, which is older than the current Labor Law and was not read for this guide. If you think that system covers you, get MOHRE's confirmation before you go ahead without the letter.

Taking the job without the procedure puts your main job at risk. Article 44 of the Labor Law lets an employer dismiss a worker without notice, after a written investigation and by a written, reasoned decision, if the worker "works for another Establishment without complying with the controls and procedures established in this regard". Termination and resignation explains what that kind of dismissal means.

Article 16 also requires you to keep your employer's information confidential and not to disclose work secrets.

What It Costs

MOHRE's service card lists two charges:

The AED 50 matches the Cabinet's fee table. Cabinet Resolution No. 21 of 2020 sets the fee for "Issuance of part-time work permit" at AED 50, for people who hold a valid work permit issued by the ministry, and Cabinet Resolution No. 37 of 2022 kept AED 50 in the schedule that took effect on 1 June 2022 (read in the English translation the UAE Government Portal links to). The AED 72 cap is on MOHRE's card only.

The UAE Government Portal gives a different figure: "an application fee of AED 100 and an approval fee of AED 500". Its page was updated on 16 October 2026, but those amounts are not the fee the Cabinet's table sets for this permit and do not match MOHRE's card. Ask the business center for the total before anyone pays.

The employer pays. Article 6 of the Labor Law prohibits an employer from charging a worker "the fees and costs of recruitment and employment", directly or indirectly. If a second employer asks you to cover the permit, see how to verify a job offer.

Time, Validity and Renewal

MOHRE gives a completion time of two working days. The employer can apply on MOHRE's website, in its mobile app or at a service center, and can follow the application on the website or app, or through the call center on 600 590000.

The permit lasts one year, on both MOHRE's card and the Government Portal. Renewal goes through the employer again: the regulation says a renewal has to meet the conditions for issuing the permit, with the fee paid.

Hours and Your Rights in the Second Job

• A contract. A part-time employment contract is one of the contract templates in MOHRE's system. The regulation says a contract states the working hours, rest days, wage and annual leave, among other terms. See UAE employment contracts.
• Hours. The Labor Law caps normal working hours at eight a day or 48 a week. When a worker is not on a full-time pattern, neither the original employer nor any other employer may require more hours than the contract sets, unless the worker agrees in writing (Article 17). The Government Portal says permit holders may work for the second company "for less than eight hours per day". The texts read for this guide do not say how the legal cap applies across two employers.
• Annual leave. A part-time worker earns annual leave in proportion to the hours worked, with a minimum of five working days a year (Article 18 of the regulation). The full-time rules are in leave entitlements.
• End-of-service pay. For a foreign worker who is owed it, it is the full-time amount multiplied by the contract's annual hours as a share of full-time annual hours (Article 30 of the regulation and Article 52 of the law). See end-of-service gratuity.

If You Are on a Family Visa

A family-visa resident can work with a MOHRE permit that the employer obtains. The Government Portal names two routes:

• A part-time work permit. The portal says people on a family visa "can take up a second job after getting a part-time work permit with an NOC from the sponsor", and that such permits "can be issued to men and women between 18 and 65 years of age".
• A work permit for a resident on family sponsorship. This is a separate permit type in the regulation, for employing people who hold their family's residence. The portal says it is valid for two years.

The NOC here comes from your sponsor, the family member whose visa you are on. MOHRE's part-time card does not mention family-visa holders, and the AED 50 part-time fee is marked for holders of a MOHRE work permit. Have the employer confirm which permit it is applying for, and the fee, before you start work. The residence side is in family sponsorship.

What Happens Without the Permit

The largest fines fall on the employer, but the worker is exposed too.

The residence law is Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021. Its Article 5 obliges a foreigner "not to engage in any activity or work except in accordance with the legislation in force in the State". Its Article 10 lets the Chairman of the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) cancel a visa or residence permit at any time before it expires if the foreigner violates that law. In the employment cases under Article 25, "the court shall order the deportation of the violating Foreigner".

Not every rule above is aimed only at the employer. Article 44 of the Labor Law lets the main employer dismiss you. Article 63 is the law's general penalty, written for "any person" who violates any other provision. The residence law binds a foreigner to work only in line with UAE law and lets ICP cancel the residence of a foreigner who violates it, and its Article 25 includes the deportation order quoted above. This guide quotes the articles; it cannot say whether or how MOHRE, a prosecutor or a court would apply them to one worker's second job.

The Government Portal's page on two employers cites an AED 50,000 fine on the hiring company under "Federal Decree Law No. 2 of 2007". An AED 50,000 fine appears in Article 25 of the 2021 residence law, and the Labor Law's AED 100,000 to AED 1,000,000 fine is separate from it.

Teens and Students From Age 15

Under 15: no work

"It is prohibited to employ any person before he completes fifteen years of age," Article 5 of the Labor Law says. The Government Portal adds that MOHRE issues no work permit below that age, to Emiratis or to expatriate residents.

The juvenile work permit

The law calls anyone who has completed 15 and is not yet past 18 a juvenile. To employ one, an establishment registered with MOHRE normally needs a juvenile work permit; students have a separate permit, below, and school students aged 15 to 18 can also apply for MOHRE's free private teacher work permit to give private lessons. The Government Portal says the permit is valid for one year, and the Cabinet's 2022 schedule sets its fee at AED 50.

The portal lists what the employer submits:

• a clear color photo on a white background
• written consent signed by the juvenile's guardian or custodian
• a certificate of fitness for the work, issued by the medical authority
• a copy of the passport and of a valid residence permit
• the employment contract approved by the ministry, signed by the employer and the employee

It adds that the juvenile must not already hold an active work permit, and that the job must not be on the list of occupations prohibited for juveniles.

What the law requires of the job

The regulation adds duties for the employer: keep a register of its juvenile workers with the guardian's contact details, insure them as it does other workers, train them in workplace safety and display the juvenile rules at the workplace (Article 4).

The fine for employing a juvenile in violation of the law is AED 100,000 to AED 1,000,000. Article 60 applies it to the employer, and to the guardian or custodian who agrees to it.

Students: training and holiday jobs

The regulation has a separate permit for training and student employment, for a student in the UAE who has reached 15. The Government Portal, in text it credits to MOHRE, sets out the rules under Administrative Resolution No. 22 of 2022:

• Training. Any establishment may train students aged 15 and above under a written contract that states the areas of training, its duration, the weekly and other holidays, and any bonus or privileges.
• Holiday jobs. An establishment may recruit students aged 15 and above during their academic holidays, for a maximum of three consecutive months each time. The contract must state the nature of the work, its duration, the wage, the weekly holiday and the daily working hours.

The portal says the permit is valid for three months. The student provides a clear color photo on a white background, a copy of an Emirates ID that shows the student status, written consent from a parent or legal guardian, a medical fitness certificate from an authorized medical authority, and a no-objection certificate from the school or university. The Cabinet's 2022 schedule lists a training permit at AED 50.

University and international students

A university student needs a MOHRE permit to work. For a job with a company, the employer obtains it; for private lessons, the student can apply for MOHRE's private teacher work permit. The rule that nobody works without a work permit has no exception for students, so a student visa or a family visa alone is not enough.

The regulation sets a minimum age of 15 for the student permit and states no upper age limit, and the portal describes it for training and holiday jobs. A student aged 18 or over who lives on a parent's residence is a family-visa resident, so the family-visa routes above apply. The official pages read for this guide do not say which permit MOHRE issues for term-time work to a student whose residence is sponsored by the university, so that student's employer should confirm with MOHRE on 600 590000 before the student starts. A student under 18 is also a juvenile under the law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is part-time work legal in the UAE?

Yes: at a company registered with MOHRE, with a MOHRE work permit for that employer. The Labor Law lists part-time work as work for one or more employers for a set number of hours or days, and its regulation lets a worker work for more than one employer after obtaining a permit from the ministry.

How much does a part-time work permit cost?

MOHRE's service card lists a federal fee of AED 50 and a business center commission capped at AED 72, and the Cabinet's fee table sets the same AED 50 for holders of a valid MOHRE work permit. The UAE Government Portal shows an application fee of AED 100 and an approval fee of AED 500, which are not the fee the Cabinet's table sets for this permit. The employer pays: the law bars employers from charging workers the costs of recruitment and employment.

Do I need my current employer's NOC for a second job?

MOHRE's service card lists a no-objection letter from the current employer among the required documents. The UAE Government Portal says skilled workers on a part-time contract under the 2018 part-time contract system can take further part-time jobs without their employers' approval, with MOHRE's permit; confirm with MOHRE before relying on it. Plan on needing the letter.

How long is a part-time work permit valid?

One year, according to MOHRE's service card and the UAE Government Portal. The employer renews it, and the regulation requires the conditions for issuing the permit to be met again at renewal.

Can I work part-time on a family visa?

Yes, with a MOHRE permit that the employer obtains. The UAE Government Portal says family-visa holders can take a part-time work permit with a no-objection certificate from their sponsor, and that such permits can be issued to men and women aged 18 to 65. There is also a separate two-year work permit for residents on family sponsorship. MOHRE's part-time card is marked for holders of ministry-issued work permits, so have the employer confirm which permit it will apply for.

What are the penalties for a second job without a permit?

The Labor Law fines anyone who employs a worker with no permit to work for them AED 100,000 to AED 1,000,000, repeated for each worker up to AED 10 million. Article 63 also fines any person who violates another provision of the law AED 5,000 to AED 1,000,000. Separately, Article 25 of the residence law sets a fine of AED 50,000 for employing a foreigner in violation of that law and says the court orders the deportation of the foreigner in violation, and that law lets ICP cancel the residence of a foreigner who violates it. The main employer may also dismiss the worker without notice, after a written investigation. This guide cannot say whether or how MOHRE, a prosecutor or a court would apply these articles to one worker's second job.

Can a 16-year-old work in the UAE?

Yes, normally with a juvenile work permit; a student can also work on the student training and employment permit. The law requires the guardian's written consent and a medical fitness certificate, limits work to six hours a day with breaks, and bans work between 7 pm and 7 am, overtime, work on rest days and public holidays, and dangerous jobs. Nobody under 15 may be employed.

Can international students work part-time in the UAE?

For training and for jobs in academic holidays, yes: students aged 15 and over can train under a written contract, or work during holidays for up to three consecutive months at a time, on a student training and employment permit that the employer obtains, with a no-objection certificate from their school or university. A student aged 18 or over on a parent's residence can use the family-visa routes. The official pages read for this guide do not say which permit covers term-time work for a university-sponsored student, so the employer should confirm with MOHRE.